henna on hair photos : Indian Henna For Hair

Indian Henna For Hair Photo Images Biography 2013

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Henna (Lawsonia inermis, also known as hina, the henna tree, the mignonette tree, and the Egyptian privet)[1][2] is a flowering plant and the sole species of the Lawsonia genus. The English name "henna" comes from the Arabic حِنَّاء (ALA-LC: ḥinnāʾ; pronounced [ħɪnˈnæːʔ]) or, colloquially حنا, loosely pronounced as /ħinna/.

The name henna also refers to the dye prepared from the plant and the art of temporary tattooing based on those dyes. Henna has been used since antiquity to dye skin, hair, and fingernails, as well as fabrics including silk, wool, and leather. The name is used in other skin and hair dyes, such as black henna and neutral henna, neither of which are derived from the henna plant.[3][4]

Historically, henna was used for cosmetic purposes in the Roman Empire, Convivencia-period Iberia and Ancient Egypt, as well as other parts of North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Near East and South Asia. It was also popular among women in 19th-century Europe. Today, bridal henna nights remain an important tradition in many of these areas.

Henna is a tall shrub or small tree, standing 1.8 to 7.6 m (5 ft 10 in to 24 ft 10 in) tall. It is glabrous and multi-branched, with spine-tipped branchlets. The leaves grow opposite each other on the stem and are glabrous, sub-sessile, elliptical, and lanceolate (long and wider in the middle; average dimensions are 1.5–5.0 cm x 0.5–2 cm or 0.6–2 in x 0.2–0.8 in), acuminate (tapering to a long point), and have depressed veins on the dorsal surface.[2] Henna flowers have four sepals and a 2 mm (0.079 in) calyx tube, with 3 mm (0.12 in) spread lobes. Its petals are obvate, with white or red stamens found in pairs on the rim of the calyx tube. The ovary is four-celled, 5 mm (0.20 in) long, and erect. Henna fruits are small, brownish capsules, 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) in diameter, with 32–49 seeds per fruit, and open irregularly into four splits.[5]

The henna plant is native to northern Africa, western and southern Asia, and northern Australasia, in semi-arid zones and tropical areas.[2][6] It produces the most dye when grown in temperatures between 35 and 45 °C (95 and 113 °F).[7] During the onset of precipitation intervals, the plant grows rapidly, putting out new shoots. Growth subsequently slows. The leaves gradually yellow and fall during prolonged dry or cool intervals. It does not thrive where minimum temperatures are below 11 °C. Temperatures below 5 °C will kill the henna plant.

Uses[edit source | editbeta]

Small Henna plant

Henna has been used since the Bronze Age to dye skin (including body art), hair, fingernails, leather, silk and wool. In several parts of the world it is traditionally used in various festivals and celebrations. It was listed in the medical texts of the Ebers Papyrus (16th-century BCE Egypt)[8] and by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (14th century CE, Syria and Egypt) as a medicinal herb.[9] There is mention of henna as a hair dye in Rome during the Roman Empire, in Indian court records around 400 CE,[10], and in Spain during Convivencia.[11] In Morocco, wool is dyed and ornamented with henna, as are drumheads and other leather goods.

Use of henna for body art has enjoyed a recent renaissance due to improvements in cultivation, processing, and the emigration of people from traditional henna-using regions.[12]

For skin dyeing, a paste of ground henna (either prepared from a dried powder or from fresh ground leaves) is placed in contact with the skin from a few hours to overnight. Henna stains can last a few days to a month depending on the quality of the paste, individual skin type, and how long the paste is allowed to stay on the skin.

Henna also acts as an anti-fungal[13] and a preservative for leather and cloth.Cultivation

Henna flowers have been used to create perfume since ancient times, and henna perfume is experiencing a resurgence. Henna repels some insect pests and mildew.

Henna's coloring properties are due to lawsone, a burgundy organic compound that has an affinity for bonding with protein. Lawsone is primarily concentrated in the leaves, especially in the petioles of the leaf. Lawsone content in leaves is negatively correlated with the number of seeds in the fruits.[14]